When I was born, I committed three terrible injustices against my father.
The first was that my birth caused my mother's death. She was of a weak constitution, and she knew that giving birth could easily be the end of her. She accepted that possibility, and went through with the pregnancy. Had the birth been an easier one, she might, potentially, have survived, but as with so much of my life, I ended up taking the hardest route, and my birthing was incredibly difficult. I was born hale and healthy, and the last thing my mother saw was me before she had passed.
The second was the fact that I was born a mare, rather than a stallion. My father is, or rather was, a proud knight of Equestria, seventh of his line to hold a title passed from father to son. My birth brought an end to that proud tradition. My father was heartbroken by my mother's passing, and swore he would never love another mare. He kept that vow to the end.
The third is that, instead of some petite, dainty, beautiful creature like my mother, I was born with a tall, powerful physique. I am not fat, or clumsy, or unsightly, no. I am not vain, but I have studied myself in the mirror many times growing up, and I will admit, my face is without flaw, my muscles are both firm and supple, I lack even a trace of fat upon my body, and in terms of grace, I could make a ballet dancer, an acrobat, or a gymnast turn green with envy. However, I am also taller than almost any stallion I have ever met. So tall, in fact, that I have been asked, more than once, to reveal my forehead, to assure others that I was not secretly an alicorn. My shoulders are in perfect proportion to my body, yet are wider than any stallion's I have ever laid eyes on. My intimidating physique has made it so that, even at an age of twenty-four, an age when most mares would have dropped three or more foals, I remain a virgin, so there is every possibility that my family line may end with me.
My name is Storm Cloud, currently the last of the Storm line. I am a pegasus with a lustrous black coat, a long, blonde mane, and bright yellow eyes. My mark is, naturally, a storm cloud, with three lightning bolts shooting down from it. I was among the first ten to join Sparkling Sunset in her quest to gather the one hundred and eight. And today... I am torn.
My father was not a harsh pony to me. In truth, he was very kind. When I expressed an interest in the knightly arts, rather than more... maidenly pursuits, he did not oppose me. Rather, he hired tutors from across Equestria to teach me how to fight, how to use weapons, and even how to fly in heavy armor, although in my case, my heavy is most other ponies' 'impossible'. At my eighteenth year, I could out-fly, out-fight, and out-maneuver any one of my tutors, or all of them at once if need be. I asked, when I came of age, for my father's endorsement into the ranks of knighthood. I had dreams of being the first mare to earn such a title, so that my father's name, and our knightly traditions, could live on. My father endorsed me wholeheartedly.
And I was immediately shot down when I applied for a position in one of the knightly orders. And the next, and the next. I applied to every order of knighthood, and none would accept me. All of them refused me, from the greatest to the smallest. Some of them were polite enough to allow me to hear the reason why from their own lips. Others just sent a letter telling me to not even bother showing up. Regardless of their courtesy or rudeness, the answer was always the same.
You're a mare. Mares cannot be knights. End of story.
When I had exhausted every possible option, my father and I decided on a desperate plan: I would enter the royal tourney the next year, in my father's armor, and compete. I would enter every contest, and with my skill in the knightly arts, I would win, and win, and win again. Then, when I was given all of the available awards for my merit by the princesses themselves, I would whip off my helm, announce my name and gender to all the world, and show all of them that, regardless of being a mare, I was more a knight than any ten stallions ever born. If they would deny me then, they would have to explain to the princesses why a mare better than any competitor on the field was unworthy of being a knight. I sincerely doubted that they could come up with a reason for my further exclusion that would not gravely offend the two great mares who rule Equestria.
However, before that plan could come to fruition, Celestia and Luna died. The proud knights of Equestria rode out with Commander Hurricane to face the fiends, and were annihilated. The knightly orders were beaten, broken, and what was left of them was scattered to the four winds. There are no more knights in Equestria. And thus, my first great dream was thwarted: I would never be able to become a knight.
My father, being a knight, naturally rode off with his brothers in arms. He was on the vanguard, the first to charge the fiends' ranks. I wish I could tell you that he died nobly, that he had at least managed to score a single blow against his foes. Instead, he was snatched out of the air by the Raptorians, who first pulled out his pinions, the vital flight feathers of a pegasai's wings, then dragged him so high up that survival would be impossible if he dropped. And then... one grabbed his shoulders, the other two grabbed one hind leg each, and they pulled in opposite directions. My father's screams, it is said, were heard for miles as, while giggling with manic glee, the Raptorians slowly ripped him in half. Not because his shrieks would unnerve the Equestrian forces, although I am certain they did. The Raptorians only did it because they thought it would be funny. Within the first minute of that battle, my father was crippled, mortally wounded, and stripped of any hope for a dignified death worthy of a knight of his valor and lineage. At the end of the sixth minute, and the battle's closure, his bleeding, broken, still-shrieking body was dropped on the fleeing forces. The force of his impact, combined with the damage already done, ensured that there would not be enough left intact of his remains to allow any manner of dignified burial, even if his body could have been retrieved...
I know my limits: The Raptorians are monsters, beasts stronger and more ferocious than any pony, or even any ten ponies put together. Even on my best day, and their worst, I could never face them and hope to win. Thus, my second great dream is also impossible: I cannot avenge my father's death.
And today, I have a third great dream, another impossible one, although I am embarrassed to admit it.
While no stallion has ever approached me with romantic intent, I have yet to find a stallion who could measure up to my father, or could stir any longing within my heart. Perhaps it is only hero worship, but I have never met a stallion who could match my father in strength, intellect, or courage. My father was a paragon of knighthood, and my ancestors were likewise great stallions. How could I ever dilute my proud bloodline with anything less than a stallion who was a paragon amongst paragons?
And yet, with my father gone, and with my contribution to the raising of King Sombra having been completed, I will need to produce an heir, if for no other reason than because, if I should fall in the days to come, either in battle, to illness, or just a random accident, there has to be somepony who can carry on the family name.
And now, this morning, I have found that stallion.
King Sombra, this very morning, has ascended to alicorndom, having proven himself a stallion worthy of the vast power of the stars. He was courageous enough to fight a fiend in one-on-one combat, clever enough to devise a plan that allowed him to achieve victory, and strong enough to pull a star from the heavens and make it one with himself. If ever there was a stallion worthy of sharing my bloodline, it is him.
It is funny, it took that accidental glamor of his to make me see it, but even now that it is gone, I cannot imagine of a better stallion to father my foals. The fact that, even without that glamor, he is handsome enough to make parts of myself I had never truly acknowledged before tremble with need for him, is only icing on the cake. I want him. I want him now and every day and night from today 'til the end of time...
And yet, how could he ever choose me over any of the mares here? Why would he choose a tall weed when he has veritable bouquet of roses to choose from?
"What's got you down, Cloudy?"
I looked to my right, and saw my friend, Babbling Brook, cheerfully munching upon her breakfast. An earth pony with a bright blue and often unruly mane, and a brownish coat, her bright blue eyes gazed at me in curiosity. Almost every mare here avoided me, due to my intimidating stature. Brook, on the other hoof, sought me out the first day she joined our ranks, and we've been inseperabe ever since. I am a mare of few words. Brook babbles almost constantly. However, if one were to assume that, just because she likes to talk, there's anything other than brains between those two ears of hers, they would be sorely mistaken: She's intensely observant, deviously clever, and has a near photographic memory.
She also alternates her nicknames for me: She calls me Stormy when I'm angry or upset, or Cloudy when I'm down. The fact that she has never once called me the wrong nickname, in spite of my usually stoic expression, speaks volumes in regards to just how observant she is.
I sighed, and I said, "King Sombra has offered each of us a favor in exchange for our role in reviving him. But only one, and if we wish for more, then we must work hard to earn his favor once again." I put my head in my hooves, and I admitted, "I am torn between three desires. I wish to become a knight. I wish to be the one who slays the Raptorians. And I wish..." Against my will, my eyes momentarily darted over to where the king was dining with Discord, Sparkling Sunset, Ladyhawke, and the fluffy one.
Brook, as observant as ever, caught it, and asked, "Oh, so you want a piece of that action?" She giggled, and said, "Get in line."
With a truly despondent sigh, I admitted, "That's the problem: I'd be the last in that line, if I was even allowed to take part in it. Sombra has more than enough fair maidens to warm his bed, and could have half the mares here with just a wink and a gesture towards the general direction of the royal bedchambers, or just a semi-private alcove, given how he looks now. Meanwhile, I'm a freakish brute of a mare: I'm as tall as he is, and almost as broad, and I know nothing of... well, I'm not the most feminine of mares..."
"So you're afraid that you'll be overlooked?" The earth pony giggled and said, "That would be a first, wouldn't it?"
In spite of myself, I laughed as well. It would be a first: I usually stand out in a crowd. All my life, I had never truly wished that I was some fair flower of a mare, even if it would have made some things in my life easier. I had, for the most part, been content with what I was. And yet now, my heart and... other parts were being flooded with unfamiliar feelings, feelings that I could never have returned because of what I was...
"I have a solution," Brook proclaimed, then whipped a sheet of paper, a quill, and an ink pot from her mane. I often wondered just how much she had stored in that wild, unruly tangle, but after seeing some of the things that she had withdrawn, I knew that she had to have neck muscles to rival my own. She quickly scribbled down a note, passed it to me, and said, "You just need to have him agree to everything on this slip of paper."
I read the note quickly.
Item 1: I want to be a knight. Not a fake kind of knight in title only, but a real, honest to goodness knight in shining armor that goes out and defends the weak and undoes the wicked.
Item 2: I want to avenge my father's death. I want to personally be the one who slays all three of the Raptorians. I will not settle for vengeance by proxy, I want all three of them dead, and I want to be the one who does the deed. My honor demands nothing less.
Item 3: I want King Sombra to take my virginity and impregnate me. And I want him to keep impregnating me as many times as I want or need to be. Seriously, I'm twenty-four, still a virgin, and I NEEEEEEEED IT!!! Please! Plow me like a cornfield! Pound me like a tent peg!! Impale me with your mighty spear!!! MAKE SWEET, SWEET LOVE TO ME!!! ALL!!! NIGHT!!!! LONG!!!!!!
I was blushing bright red at the last one. Had any other mare written that and told me to take to King Sombra, then I would have been furious beyond words, but Brook was my best friend. My only friend, really. I knew it was partly in fun, and I did love her sense of humor dearly. I hesitated, and then took the note. I hated how desperate it sounded, but I will admit that, joke or not, it was the honest truth...
SURPRISE INTERLUDE!!!
Seriously, I can't stop writing this week.
6027598 And for that, we thank you.
Must have more
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well its not like anyone is gonna complain that's for sure.
Prepare thy body Sombra!
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Good work keep it coming. And even tall girls have needs. This one just happens to need status, justice, and sweet, sweet lovin.
As usual your writing brings a smile to my face.
I am loving your crazy stories (in fact, your tirek one got me the appreciation for a certain piece of monstrous machinery).
Have you thought about a story for Chrysalis yet? Of course, separate from the Tirek story, since she gets utterly destroyed there.
6027598 That last part was worthy to be its own one sentenced clopfic. Congratulations.
...Tucker, your comments on number 3?
Thank you.
On another, unrelated, comment.
I knew you were a wizard (or a paperkinesis user) Bucking!!! Praise the Chapter-Mancer!
Besides that, lovin' all the new characters introduced so far, and it was interesting having an interlude that was officially confirmed as happening on (in-universe) real time... I think.
Speaking of interlude's, are there going to be any more before the next chapter starts, and if so, will it be about a new character or one of the main cast/returning characters?
Can't wait for more Sambrose awesomeness, and thanks for the interlude update king.
OK, Storm Cloud seems like a cross between Samus Aran (Metroid series) and Arturia Pendragon (Fate : Stay Night) to me. Likely would have been pure Arturia if not for the untimely death of the princesses.
Arturia Pendragon, the girl who gave up her chance at a peaceful life as a woman in exchange for a thankless life as King Arthur. (Yes, THAT King Arthur) At least she got a chance to live for herself with Emiya Shirou in the Realta Nua ending.
Great chapter. The first two of Storm Cloud's wishes can be solved be making her the captain of Sombra's guard( and maybe his champion) and giving her a badass(and beautiful) suit of armor that's a medieval and magical version of the Iron Man armor.
She's a regular Joan of Arc. I'm surprised we got another chapter after what you said in your last blog. Seeing how these interludes will keep continuing here and they'll introduce new characters, it's going to be hard to remember them all(especially what they look like.) if possible in the future can you show what these characters look like?(you can use the pony creator program. It's quick and easy.)
6027598 Good thing, cause I can't stop reading! G'job mate!
Thank you so much. I really like Storm's backstory and her interaction with Brook. I can't wait to see her interact with Sombra in the story. Hope the next chapter comes soon.
UNF.
So...
Either she'll be disappointed to find that she cannot loose her virginity without Sombra dying, or that "Sombra" simply isn't interested in her, or any of them...
Hey, BuckingNonsense, are you planning on doing an interlude for every character? I mean, these are nice, and I feel like you may have time, but that sounds like alot of work...
I hope he doesn't accept right off the bat (I don't think he will). You really should get to know someone deeply before you do that third request if at all. I notice the note doesn't specify a time limit so he could just say she didn't say when this was to happen. This chapter makes it look like all the mares can think about is getting in his bed. Just cause he is handsome and the only stallion around doesn't really mean so many of the mares will fall for him. Anyway the last few chapters has struck me as off. It's only been a year since it started and everyone is acting like they've lived on the run since they were born. Course the whole story is based off a bogus and fairly unexplained concept. It's storyline is just your average force everyone else to forfeit for made up reasons until the 'hero' is the last one who can save the day and only he can(I'd like some solid believable back story to why Celestia, Luna, and the Elements are at the least afk. You can't just have them kill each other without a DAMN good reason and even then you really need a believable reason they BOTH are dead(usually only happens when someone suicide booms another and I don't see ether doing that). At least on Earth anybody can be killed with a simple gun. I'd think with magic you'd be able to assassinate someone of power with a little ingenuity. Anyway got pretty off topic there at the end of the day it's fanfic which is mostly unfiltered 'shit' that people shovel out and I can't expect a great story with supporting background.
6027598 A wild Interlude appeared! It used "SNEAK ATTACK". It's super effective!
These interludes are awesome.
And that letter... oh that was just something amazing
Well, best of luck to her with the 3rd wish! All of those wishes actually. I have no idea now whether the 2nd or 3rd is more impossible
A Knights Tale
All I gotta say.
Not sure if sarcasm because she gets ignored by orders, or sarcasm because she's huge.
And dat list, I can picture his eyes as he reads it. "Ok, we'll see about that one aaand, wait, what. Whoa, wait! Oh sweet stars above!"
It seems I have found my OTP now.
Doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Storm Cloud would have been exactly my type... Nope...
6027838 Nightmare Moon happened in the baseline. Look at the first chapter to get the background-story from before Sombra's revival, there is explained why the EoH were 'afk', or in my words:
Why the Elements of Harmony were not used.
*clears throat*
Basically, there is a parallel-universe to this one. There Celestia used the Elements of Harmony to kill Sombra. This universe had a Sombra who took 'tias heart, and he died because the other Sombra died. Because of that Celestia swore to never use the 'murderstones' again, and hid them far away. Now comes Nightmare Moon, they both have an equal strength. Nightmare Moon uses starchunks and throws them at Celestia, Celestia shoots laser at Nightmare Moon. Suddenly, both use their one-shot-attack: "Moonthrow" and "Sunthrow". Those two attacks collide, and cause those two, who were high up in the air, to be obliterated. Reasons? Probably shockwave, maybe they were thrown out of their flight and couldn't regain it.
Part of the story I had told before this sentence is my personal headcanon, so you should re-read the first chapter for the canon-version.
Sombra: "This is three requests, and I specified a single request only. However, I shall make you my knight, and should you prove yourself in that capacity, I shall assist with granting you the personal responsibility of destroying these fiends. As for the third, I inadvertently messed with the heads of most of the mares here. Taking advantage of that when there's the possibility of you not being in the right state of mind would be evil, and I will not do so."
Also, they should consider him to still be evil. A glamour is one thing, but Sombra's actions prior to now should put him nearly on par with a fiend, in most of their eyes, which should have them avoiding him as much as possible. The fact that the fiends are actually worse is the only reason they brought him back.
Now this is quite new, you are first person i see who is making these interludes and they are great. Also
"I have one request. I want you to agree to everything on this paper." BAM! 3 requests with one wish.... he got cornered mwahahahahaha
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2350 things Mr. Welch can no longer do during an RPG, Number 97: My one wish cannot be 'I wish everything on this piece of paper was true'.
Technically, it is just one wish, even if it has multiple components. Still, it's the kind of thing that you can only get away with once, and never happens again.
6028578 Just one wish, and he's granting the first part straight off, ensuring that the second part is doable by making sure she can handle it (and learning enough about her to figure out what kind of assistance she'll need), and refusing the third part because he already said "no evil."
Ah, so we got two more virgins introduced in this chapter, eh? Update time!
The virgins:
Rosy Sunset- Crystal filly carrying Miss Bubbles.
Miss Bubbles- Rosy's pegasus doll. Has awesome powers due to blood magic. Temporarily came to life in chapter 12 to save Ambrosa/Sombra from his impending doom.
Ginger Ale- A filly and a lone survivor in a destroyed village.
Acorn- A changeling who disguised herself as an earth pony with dull brown coat, a darker shade for mane and tail, both unstyled and unadorned, but with bright green eyes. Has acorn for cutie mark. Is known as a forester due to the cloak that she is wearing. Since she's a changeling, she's quite stealthy and seems to appear out of nowhere on various occasions.
Sweet Melody- A yellowish mare with neither wings nor horn, but with a long and flowing mane and tail, and cutie mark that depicted a g-clef surrounded by little pink hearts. Has blue eyes.
Radiant Hope- A fluffy pony with dark purple in coloration, but with a splash of light blue where her mane would be. Has the ability to pull random objects out of its magical fur, including a violin and a pink surfboard.
Petite Madeleine- A unicorn pony with a golden coat, pink mane and tail, and blue eyes. She is a patisserie and used to bake for the royalty before joining the 108 mares to resurrect King Sombra.
Storm Cloud- A pegasus mare with a lustrous black coat, a long, blonde mane, and bright yellow eyes. Has a tall and muscular build unlike any mares in Equestria. Cutie mark is a storm cloud with three lightning bolts shooting down from it. Tried to become a knight, but failed to do so. Her father was killed by the Raptorians. Introduced in chapter 20, she finds that Ambrose/King Sombra is the first mate for her.
Babbling Brook- An earth pony with a bright blue and often unruly mane, and a brownish coat. Intensely observant, deviously clever, and has a near photographic memory. Is best friends with Strom Cloud.
I hope these two will play interesting roles in the future, just like Acorn.
I was reminded of both the "Notice me, Senpai!" Meme, and a certain scene from teamfourstar Helsing Ultimate Abridged. (The one where Alucard gets ser Integra to say he was right and then Alucard creams his pants)
Enter the one that would have been a Mary Sue, if not for the fiends
Well then... I kinda wish she had proven herself to the Knights... Also I agree with her... Those Raptorians need to die... Great chapter though!
i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/758/572/7fa.gif 6028686
You know, when she said "My father was heartbroken by my mother's passing, and swore he would never love another mare. He kept that vow to the end.", along of how she started her tale, kind of made me go "Oh no, her father didn't love her"... But that's not what happened... Confussing signals.
Just saying.
6028578 like how you cant wish for 3 more wishes, bt there was never naything about wishing for 3 more genies.
In my mind, she has a talk with Ambrose/Sombra and the following takes place...
First, she is tasked with earning her knighthood in his eyes by becoming the foremost protector of the mares and his second in battle. No wish needed because she earned it through action.
Second, he agrees to help her finding a way to slay the Raptorians, and as part of gaining her knighthood from him, he comes up with some sort of enchanted equipment to give her that gives her the edge she needs to accomplish both protecting the rest of the mares and matching the Raptorians in battle.
Third one won't settle down on anything specific. Most thoughts have them both acting horribly awkward. Be neat to see her end up his wife, but I don't know if this is that kind of story. This is, of course, assuming the blood magic doesn't require them to remain virgins, or at the very least, prevent him from claiming them himself.
6027598 Really, you need to do more everythings. More gooder writing please.
6028860 Lol. It's so creepy!
Another great chapter. You've made a great batch of character's for this story.
Look's like Brook found a bit of a loophole to the one favor situation.
6028355 Ok so I went back to the first chapter and I still say that back story is garbage.
Princess Hott Butt was secretly in love with an alternate universe's version of Studly McAwesomerod
um what...
How did that happen. when did she go into a an alternate universe and meet this guy. unless she does some time stuff where she is from the future and met him then went to the past and killed original Sombra. Maybe most this stuff is pre-destined stuff. But if that is the case I'd like it explained.
killing one killed both
why would that kill just those 2? and why would it even kill the second?
this version had still managed to catch the heart of one of the hottest pieces of tail
If she knew it was an alternate universe how the fuck did she fall for this universes. She's smarter then that.
lost his chance at tapping that ass because reasons
Never use because reasons in a back story LAZY.
secretly a doombow in disguise
again why kill alternate universe Sombra.
she accidentally killed anyone else
Wait... where were the Elements of Harmony you know those mares the show is ALL ABOUT. He says Celestia used them by herself? oh wait this is based 1,000 years before the show I guess? Please be clear on the time.
Takes place in an alternate universe where Celestia and Luna used the Elements of Harmony to slay King Sombra.
That still isn't clear
Incidentally, the sun and moon crashed into each other, and both shattered
Oh yeah sure nice side note... Pls just make a chapter about the fight. and stuff leading up to it.
All the legendary heroes of Equestrian lore came out to face these dreaded villains
That is another thing where did these guys/girls come from. Did they appear as ghosts? It says ALL THE LEGENDARY HEROS not just the couple you mentioned who may or may not have been alive at the time.
but skilled warriors is not even in the top ten
Now that's just wrong. You'd think to become a legendary hero you at least knew how to fight.
All in all, the most uninformative and lazy back story I've ever had the folly to read. It would've been better just to not read it.
6029410 *clears throat*
No humour you have. The force worthy you not are.
But seriously, you just want to trashtalk the story. It is pretty obvious he makes fun out of it, and how better to make fun out of it than to do exactly what you're NOT supposed to do in a funnier way? Example:
Infodump like chapter one,
'Because reasons'
Well, I can piece together what lead up to it.
And this here is Celestia vs Nightmare Moon done better than in the show. When they revealed it, it was just kind of... meh. Better this than like in the show.
Implicit information is generally better, because it keeps the flow going. It's not fun to read something explicit like:
Lalala...
Nope, I didn't break any rules or anything nope nope nope.
Or:
See? This looks much better.
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The alternate version of King Sombra is something that is gone into in the MLP:FIM comics. Basically, there's an alternate reality where everyone's opposite exists. In the Prime universe, King Sombra is an evil monster. In the Alt universe, King Sombra is a dashing, handsome, and kind ruler.
As for the backstory, it's being told 1000 years after the fact. All the great heroes that ponies have heard about in Equestrian legend (Names like Clover The Clever and Commander Hurricane) are present. However, since this is decades after the first Hearthswarming, those legends are old. Anyone older, who would have been in Unicorn, Pegasus, or Earth Pony legends, and lived before the formation of Equestria, will have passed away from old age if nothing else.
And for why they got curb-stomped? Simple: Lord Tirek, on his own, was sufficient to nearly bring Equestria to its knees twice. Imagine fifteen of him, versus an Equestria with no alicorns whatsoever, and no Elements Of Harmony. Yeah, they were pretty much hosed.
6028578 after reading first 10 i have decided to read it all, no idea when but i will. It made me laugh.
that list tho...
6030183 I kno~ow. Fuck, that made me bust a gut.
Short info: I'm going to be posting and updating the character lists every time a new character is introduced or whenever a villain dies. I'm also going to add more info to some of the virgins, such as when the character was first introduced. I'm also going to move Miss Bubbles to the "Other characters" list as well.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you! The chapter was funny and informative. I hope to see a chapter or a note for all characters. Maybe some villains too.
And the provided link gave me a ton of laughter.
You are taking full advantage of the fact you have 108 virgin blank slates to fill, it's pretty funny some of these stories, and pretty interesting as well, already twice the last ponies have had sad lifestyles due to the Princesses dying, they were just about to turn around their life or something of that nature.
Here we have STORM CLOUD, the mare who would have stamped out sexism! It's pretty damn amazing the history that would have been woven by all of them, here's to the problems Sombra and Guest will face, because if they turn down one of them then there is going to be trouble, from the viewers who have become fans of these lovely fillies as well!
Fetish fuel?